‘American Idol’ Winners Through the Years: From Kelly Clarkson to Carrie Underwood

American Idol has made singing dreams come true since it premiered in June 2002.

“When I was a little girl … if you had asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I would have told you I wanted to be a famous country music singer,” season 4 winner Carrie Underwood told fans during her concert at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville in September 2019. “As I got older, dreams tend to give way to practicalities, so I started going to school to get a real job. One day there was an open door, and I walked through it and my life was changed forever.”

Underwood is not the only past winner whose life was changed after appearing on American Idol. For Jordin Sparks, the experience was even more unique because she was a fan of the hit competition show first.

“I was such a huge fan of Idol that I was more excited to audition for that than to get my driver’s license,” Sparks told AZCentral in August 2017. “That’s how a big a fan I was.”

Keep scrolling to look back at all the American Idol winners through the years: